Making operating appropriations for the 2015-2017 and 2017-2019 fiscal biennia.

Making transportation appropriations for the 2015-2017 and 2017-2019 fiscal biennia.

Concerning the requirements for prescribing opioids.

Expands the list of persons to whom the department of health may provide prescription monitoring program data.

Requires the following to adopt rules establishing requirements for prescribing opioid drugs: (1) The state podiatric medical board;

(2) The state dental quality assurance commission;

(3) The state board of osteopathic medicine and surgery;

(4) The medical quality assurance commission; and

Concerning the definition of work activity for the purposes of the WorkFirst program.

Concerning transition services for people with developmental disabilities.

Requires the department of social and health services to: (1) Ensure that each resident's individual habilitation plan includes a plan for discharge to the community;

(2) Maximize federal funding for transitioning clients through the roads to community living grant;

(3) Limit the ability of a state-operated living alternative to reject referred clients;

(4) Employ the quality assurance process currently in use by the department to monitor the adjustment of residents who leave a residential habilitation center;

(5) Study and make recommendations on developing and building a federally qualified health center for residents and other individuals with developmental disabilities who live in the community;

(6) Consult with federally qualified health centers and members and representatives of the developmental disabled community; and

(7) Complete an appraisal of the charitable, educational, penal, and reform institutions land on the Fircrest School campus.

Prohibits the department of social and health services from permitting a new admission to Fircrest School to the intermediate care facility or the nursing facility unless the admission is for the provision of short-term respite or crisis stabilization services.

Requires the intermediate care facility at Fircrest School to cease operation by December 31, 2022.

Requires the nursing facility portion of Fircrest School to continue to operate until the census of permanent residents has reached sixteen persons.

Requires Fircrest School to cease to operate as a residential habilitation center when certain conditions are met.

Requires the developmental disabilities administration, when determining which of its clients who receives an annual developmental disabilities assessment are at highest risk of abuse or neglect, to include in its consideration, whether the client has moved from a residential habilitation center to the community.

Requires revenue generated from Fircrest School properties, when the school ceases to operate, and revenue generated with the next phase of the Fircrest School master plan process identified in the 2017-2019 omnibus capital appropriations act to be deposited into the developmental disabilities community trust account.

Concerning the capital construction of and bonding for addressing the facilities maintenance backlog for the state parks and recreation commission.

Establishes the securing the future of Washington's state parks bonding act.

Authorizes the state finance committee to issue general obligation bonds to provide funds for needed capital improvements consisting of the predesign, design, maintenance, construction, modification, renovation, modifying existing structures to meet current and future needs, equipping, and other improvement of state buildings and facilities for the parks and recreation commission.

Prohibits the proceeds from the bonds from being used for: (1) Any expenditures to any part of the cross-state trail east of the Columbia river known by the names of the Milwaukie Road corridor, John Wayne trail or iron horse trail, or for the Columbia Plateau trail south of the Turnbull national wildlife refuge where the scablands nature trail and the Columbia Plateau trail meet and north of the Snake river junction trailhead;

(2) Any expenditures pertaining to any part of trails acquired by the parks and recreation commission after the effective date of this act; and

(3) The purchase or acquisition of any new land.

Creating a tax court for the state of Washington.

Creates a tax court as a court of record with statewide jurisdiction that will consist of one judge selected from each district of the court of appeals and commissioners as are appointed by the tax court.

Abolishes the state board of tax appeals.

Transfers the powers, duties, and functions of the state board of tax appeals to the tax court.

Making revisions to education reforms in Substitute Senate Bill No. 5607.

Concerning foster care and adoption support.

Requires respite care to include case aides who provide temporary assistance to foster parents as needed with the overall goal of supporting the parental efforts of the foster parents however, this does not include overnight assistance.

Requires the department of social and health services to contract with community-based organizations in each region to establish a statewide pool of individuals to provide the care.

Requires the state institute for public policy to prepare an outcome evaluation of the respite care.

Requires the court to weigh the importance of establishing timely permanency for a child when considering a request for continuance of a review hearing or a permanency planning hearing and grant a continuance only after making a finding that the continuance is in the best interest of the child.

Requires the secretary of the department of social and health services to: (1) In order to encourage adoption of children between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, include continued eligibility for the Washington college bound scholarship as part of a new negotiated adoption agreement; and

(2) Within the department's appropriations, establish a case review panel for the purpose of reviewing foster care cases where permanency has not been achieved for children within twelve months after being placed in out-of-home care.

Requires the governor to regularly acknowledge the contributions of foster parents to the state with, at a minimum, a letter signed by the governor.

Creates the foster parent shared leave pool to allow employees to donate leave to be used as shared leave for an employee who is a foster parent needing to care for or preparing to accept a foster child in their home.

Requires any residual balance remaining in the child and family reinvestment account to be transferred to the general fund.

Creates the child welfare system improvement account.

Repeals the child and family reinvestment account.

Eliminating the use of the high school science assessment as a graduation prerequisite. (REVISED FOR ENGROSSED: Delaying the use of the high school science assessment as a graduation prerequisite. )

Concerning behavioral health system reform.

Revises the involuntary treatment act, the community mental health services act, criminally insane provisions, and public and private facilities for the mentally ill with regard to: (1) Integrating risk for long-term civil involuntary treatment into managed care;

(2) Development of community long-term involuntary treatment capacity;

(3) State hospital short-term reforms;

(4) Improving access to assisted outpatient mental health treatment;

(5) Reducing demand for forensic services;

(6) Addressing managed care entities to provide fully integrated care; and

Concerning claims against public entities.

Concerning eligibility for public assistance programs.

Discontinues assistance from the working connections child care subsidy, after a minimum of three months, if there is a change in the ongoing status of the child's parent as working or attending a job training or education program that is not temporary.

Requires an applicant or a recipient, as a condition of receiving a child care subsidy or a working connections child care subsidy, to seek child support enforcement services from the department of social and health services, division of child support, unless the department finds that the applicant or recipient has good cause not to cooperate.

Addresses work activity and eligibility requirements for the WorkFirst temporary assistance for needy families program.

Allows a person to receive aged, blind, or disabled assistance benefits for up to thirty-six months.

Making expenditures from the budget stabilization account for public employer unfunded actuarially accrued liabilities.

Makes an appropriation from the budget stabilization account for expenditure into the public employees' retirement system plan 1 fund to reduce the unfunded actuarially accrued liability in that plan.

Establishes a surcharge on employers, as defined in RCW 41.35.010, 41.37.010, or 41.40.010, to reimburse the state general fund for the expected reduction in the unfunded actuarially accrued liability for employers due to the payment from the state general fund.

Concerning eligibility for the early childhood education and assistance program.

Requires full implementation of the program of early learning to be achieved in the 2022-2023 school year.

Concerning the sales tax credit or refund for amounts charged off as bad debts with respect to private label credit accounts.

Making expenditures from the budget stabilization account.

Makes an appropriation from the budget stabilization account for expenditure into the public employees' retirement system plan 1 fund to reduce the unfunded actuarially accrued liability in that plan.

Establishes a surcharge on employers, as defined in RCW 41.35.010, 41.37.010, or 41.40.010, to reimburse the state general fund for the expected reduction in the unfunded actuarially accrued liability for employers due to the payment made from the state general fund in the appropriation above.

Requires the department of retirement systems to bill each employer a surcharge every month.

Requires the pension funding council to adopt an annual supplemental employer rate that reflects the impact of the state's contribution toward the public employees' retirement system plan's unfunded actuarially accrued liability.

Creates the homeless assistance account.

Makes appropriations from the budget stabilization account to: (1) The homeless assistance account; and

(2) The housing trust fund for new construction, renovation, or conversion of existing housing stock for permanent supportive housing or other housing options particularly to provide assistance for people who are homeless and those who are at risk of becoming homeless and to assist in operations and maintenance costs for affordable and supportive housing.

Makes an appropriation from the homeless assistance account to the department of commerce for administrative purposes, and requires the funds to be distributed statewide, to sheltering, including emergency shelter and support services, for individuals and families, including assistance to families in the temporary assistance for needy families program, and to the housing and essential needs program.

-- 2017 REGULAR SESSION --
Mar 24	First reading, referred to Ways & Means.